USTA
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Binghamton Mixed Doubles Team at Regionals
Posted by Dickey Sopchak on 17 Jul 2004 | Tagged as: USTA
This Binghamton Mixed Doubles Team represented District 13 at the Regional Championships at BTC. Meet the 6.0 Hanzes Team featuring Don and Lillian Krebbeks, Brenda Story and Dave and Colleen Hanzes, the captain!
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USTA Adult Leagues
Posted by Michael Starke on 09 Jul 2004 | Tagged as: USTA
Believe it or not, adult league play is nearing completion. In my estimation, the 2004 season has been a great one. Thanks to the efforts of Dicky Sopchak and the adult league committee, Reeta Hayes and Tim Saunders, the league has run very smoothly. I have never wtinessed so many close matches, nor so many 3rd set tiebreakers. Comraderie among opposing teams is at an all time high. The leagues have been a pleasure to host this year.
Even at this late date, ony a few leagues have been decided so far. The Jones/Starke team has clinched the Women’s 3.5 divsision. In Women’s 2.5, Brenda Story’s team holds a2-0 record while Gregory is 2-1. In the Women’s 4.0 division, it appears the Hoesel team is headed for the title with a 7-0 record, but still have two matches to play. Winning just one of those matches would secure the title. The most competitive women’s leagus thus far is the 3.0. While the McNamara team leads with a 7-1 record, both Gregory/Kutz & the Patti Christie team are 6-2 and nipping at their heels. Christie still has both the McNamara & Kutz team to play. Stay tuned on this one.
Bob deVente’s team has won the Men’s 4.0. Dick Hoesel’s 3.5 Men’s team is 4-1, and Orville Wright’s team is 3-1. They will play each other in a classic showdown July 15 to decide the league winner. The Men’s 3.0 league is in their closest race ever. With only two teams in the division, Crowley is currently 4-3, O’Connor 3-4 and they will play each other one more time. If the O’Connor team wins, the decision will come down to the tiebreak rule!
The much anticipated year end USTA players party will take place Wednesday, July 28 from 6-8pm. Festitivies include tennis, refreshments, buffet dinner, cash bar and awards. Organized by Tim Saunders, there has been some rumor he might be providing addtional entertainment with table top dancing. Either way, count me in for attending!
We will once again announce Team Warrior Awards at the party. This award will be given to the player who most exemplifies the team spirit and fits your definition of warrior. Each team votes thier own warrior. Your captain will then forward all winner to Dickey Sopchak. So please get your votes to your captain!
One can rsvp if they will be attending the party by contacting your captain and/or placing your name on the sign-up sheet at the desk. See you then.
We are now forming Super senior teams at 6.0 & 7.0 levels. Supers senior leagues combine the ratings of both players. They tell me that you must be 60 or over to qualify for this league….I define a super senior as a senior with a little extra kick left in the engine. In any event, to sign-up, please contact Dickey at dbs13790@stny.rr.com.
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USTA weekly update 6/7
Posted by Michael Starke on 07 Jun 2004 | Tagged as: USTA
Action really heated up in league play this past week. A lot of matches were played in spite of the rain and some league races are beginning to take shape.
Cindy Moore displaying fine clay court form in her match vs Teri Ruhl. The Gregory team has raced to a 3-0 record in the women’s 3.0 division, but has yet to play the McNamara team, which also is undefeated at 2-0. The Kelly team is still dominating in the women’s 3-5 division while the Hoesel team has pulled off back-to-back 3-2 wins to take 1st place in the Women’s 4.0.
On the men’s side, Gary Crowley’s 3.0 team is 2-0 against the O’Connor team, a team they know well. These two teams are the only 3.0 teams in our league the past three years. The Men’s 3.5 and 4.0 leagues are just getting underway.
There were two highlight matches of the week, both occuring Thursday evening. The 4.0 Women’s Hoesel team narrowly defeated arch rival Ithaca 3-2. Four of the five matches went to a 3rd set tiebreaker.
In the Men’s 3.5 league, Orville Wright’s 3.5 team defeated a familiar foe, Dick Hoesel’s team 4-1, winning all four of their matches in a 3rd set tiebreak to clinch the match. That is what I call living on the edge. Mike Faulkner defeated captain Dick Hoesel 10-8 in one tiebreak, and the new kids on the block, Joe Mirabito & Chris Simpson, won their tiebreak 12-10 at #1 doubles, defeating the veterans Andy Awylard & Ed Farrell. Joe & Chris are former basketball standouts who have just recently taken to the tennis courts. Perhaps we should be conducting team recruiting on the basketball courts! According to Gerad West, team member of the Wright team, these two teams have developed a “friendly rivalry”. “The Hoesel team had won the league three years in a row before our team won it last year. I think youth may have played a factor in the super tiebreaks as we wore them down”. It’s interesting to note that Orville Wright was a team member of the Hoesel team until two years ago, when he formed his team, comprised mostly of Owego residents. These two teams will play two more times this season. I think I will be watching the next match!
Yesterday we hosted the Western Regional Mixed Doubles at the 6.0, 7.0 & 8.0 levels. It was a great day of tennis with teams from Buffalo, Syracuse and Rochester competing, as well as Colleen Hanzes local 6.0 team.
To view all league results, go to National USTA. A reminder that our 24th Annual BTC Clay Court will take place this weekend. Entries are still open until Tuesday. I hope to continue to gain player quotes for the weekly update. If you have any news or matches of interest to report, feel free to e-mail me at mstarke@tennisctr.com.
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USTA League update wk 5/24
Posted by Michael Starke on 26 May 2004 | Tagged as: USTA
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Adult leagues have now officially started, with most divisions playing this week. On the womens side, we have two 2.5 teams, six 3.0 teams, five 3.5 teams and four 4.0 teams. The men have two 3.0 teams, three 3.5 teams, and two 4.0 teams.
The Kelly team The week’s highlight match was the women’s 3.5 match, Rauber/Kelly vs Jones/Starke, on Monday night. Two evenly matched teams battled for 2 1/2 hours. 4 of the 5 matches went to 3rd set tiebreaks. LouAnn Rauber/Lisa Kelly won the deciding match over Kris Starke/Barb Jones 13-11 in the tiebreak after saving 3 match points! Lisa & LouAnn win the player of the week award.
The USTA has now made its site very simple (at least simpler) to navigate. Go to National USTA
Once there, you find your league standings by plugging in your team name, gender and level under the Search option. For that matter, any of those search options work. Once you pull up your team league, you can click on the “Add to My Teams” icon located near the top right hand portion of the page under “League”, just below your “2004 Binghamton”. Next time you log on, you will find My Teams on your home page! You can add as many teams/leagues as you want here. This is best way to find standings and match information. I think this page has other neat options, but Dickey Sopchak, our USTA computer guru, has opted to show me one neat feature per week, which fits perfectly with my pace.
On Sunday, June 6 from 9am - 2 pm BTC will be hosting the USTA Mixed Doubles Regional Championships. We have one local team, Hanzes 6.0, competing ….Come up and check out the competition from Buffalo and Rochester. Our local team can use all the spectators and support possible. You also get a chance to see just how good the top teams from our region are. Often you see the same players in other adult leagues.
Oh yes….all USTA match schedules will be posted on the board as you walk in the club lounge. The board will tell you which match is being played on which courts. This is especially helpful when there are two matches at the same time or we are on a rain schedule.
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7.0 Mixed Doubles Season End Party
Posted by Dickey Sopchak on 27 Apr 2004 | Tagged as: USTA
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